Kroger's cell-phone kiosks display phones that customers can get free minutes on when they purchase a certain amount of groceries with their KrogerPlus card.

Written by

The average American spends more than $600 a month at the grocery store, with some families even exceeding $1,000. Now, that money could earn someone a lot of free cell phone minutes or text messages - if they shop at Kroger.

The downtown-based grocery giant and its wireless phone marketing partner, i-wireless LLC, are in the midst of launching a national promotion that will allow customers who use the KrogerPlus card to earn free cell phone minutes on i-wireless phones sold at Kroger stores.

Shoppers will get 20 free minutes for every $100 spent a month while using their loyalty card, with a cap ...